King Zachary's unusual expedition
by Aereal
Summary: Songfic challenge - oneshot. The King follows his heart and love on an impulsive journey. Can he right his wrong or will he be left with the guilt? But what is the twist at the end?


**Songfic Challenge #2**

**King Zachary****'****s unusual expedition**

**MAROON 5 - WON'T GO HOME WITHOUT YOU**

**I hope this is not too cliché … if it is, too bad hehe…**

**If you have any complaints, write your own ruddy fanfic!**

**And please don't write any reviews with rhetorical questions in them!**

**If you have any real questions PM me. Thanks! **

**Ok enough complaining… here it is =)**

King Zachary rode his high-strung stallion at a reckless pace. The wind whistled through his hair as he joyed in the freedom of the open countryside. There were no courtiers out here, no need to worry about the creases and stains on his travelling clothes; it was just himself, a few Weapons, their horses and the horizon. The cold wind helped to sharpen his focus and ease the pain, the worries, the regrets that crawled insidiously through his mind.

_I asked her to stay but she wouldn't listen_

_And she left before I had the chance to say_

_The words that would mend the things that were broken_

_But now it's far too late she's gone away_

He hoped to all the Gods he knew of that it would not be too late, but how could it not be? The Blackveil expedition had left from the castle two whole days ago. Two of the most agonising days of his life. From the moment Karigan left, he had agonized constantly over what more he could have done to prevent her from going. Anything. He had done nothing. She had left. And what were her feelings about this, about him? He did not know. He thought perhaps there was something in her expression, in the quickening of her breath and the flush on her cheeks, in that solitary moment when he spoke to her. That moment in the cold morning before everything changed.

If she did care for him, was she now suffering too? Was she also railing silently at the injustice of this world?

_Every night you cry yourself to sleep_

_Thinking why does this happen to me?_

_Why does every moment have to be so hard?_

_Hard to believe it_

Finally it was too much for him. Even Laren could see that. Her face was disappointed, but surprisingly she said nothing as he rode from the castle in the early hours, making haste towards the dawn.

_It's not over tonight_

_Just give me one more chance to make it right_

_I may not make it through the night_

_I won't go home without you_

He remembered as he rode the precious moments they had together. At first he tried not to. But how could he not? He reveled in this pain. This sharp echo of what he hoped she felt as well.

_The taste of her breath, I'll never get over_

_And the noises that she made kept me awake_

_The weight of the things that remain unspoken_

_Built up so much, it crushed us every day_

_Every night you cry yourself to sleep_

_Thinking, why does this happen to me?_

_Why does every moment have to be so hard?_

_Hard to believe it_

He rode lightly over the ground, like a living form of the wild ride, with his silent Weapons riding wraithlike behind him. He had to make it in time, before she crossed over the D'Yer Wall. He felt that his entire existence depended on finding her. No, not just that. He had to persuade her to come back to him. And he wouldn't leave until he did.

_It's not over tonight_

_Just give me one more chance to make it right_

_I may not make it through the night_

_I won't go home without you_

The colours of the world blurred vividly around him. Everything, his very being, his soul, his heart and his life depended on her answer. He could feel the horse's steady breathing beneath him and hear the whisper of the hooves over the grass. Never had he felt such clarity before.

_Of all the things I've felt I've never really showed_

_Perhaps the worst is that I ever let you go_

_I should not ever let you go_

_It's not over tonight_

_Just give me one more chance to make it right_

_I may not make it through the night_

_I won't go home without you_

_It's not over tonight_

_Just give me one more chance to make it right_

_I may not make it through the night_

_I won't go home without you_

"Your Highness?"

The movement of the ground slowed and the road faded as Zachary forced his tightly closed eyes to open a crack. Blinding shafts of sunlight threatened to pierce his fantasy. He groaned and sat up, noticing that he had fallen asleep in his favourite chair next to the open window. Fastion was standing over him, his dark hair stirring in the spring breeze.

Zachary cursed, trying to retain that wonderful clarity he had felt in the dream. If only life was that simple—if only he could ride out and bring his loved one home safe, declaring never to leave until she was his.

_And I won't go home without you_

_And I won't go home without you_

_And I won't go home without you_

**Well? Review! Yes that means you!**


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